Missed Connections

a kate west plea

Want to invest in your heart? Want to see someone else struggle to date in L.A.? Fund this!

Straight from the filmmakers:

I wrote this film, and my wife and I will be playing the two leads. The script was written specifically for people that we know. It's personal. We're shooting in our house and our friends houses. We've simplified the film making process to utilize what is available to us and what inspires us every day. I've been doing comedy in Los Angeles for eight years and have writing and performing on the biggest comedy stages in the city (The Groundlings, Upright Citizen's Brigade). While keeping with my comedic roots I really want to create something more, something deeper, something substantial. I have some insanely talented people involved with the project, and I'm certain that we are going create a truly funny film. We plan to shoot this project on the weekends. This is so cast and crew can still have their weekdays, if they need to go to work or auditions. We have friends working on every aspect of this film. Our editor is going to be editing while we shoot, our producer is working in her free time, and our actors are working for practically pennies. My wife is going to me making lunch and there is a good chance if I am not in a scene, I am going to be holding the boom. This project is all about friends - giving of themselves to create something special. It's our passion project.

See preview here:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150158037246498

Fund here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/982060345/missed-connections-0

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Scarecrow Video - a Seattle Experience

a kate west recommendation




Having recently visited Seattle for the first time, I was struck by how right so many of my friends were. This was a perfect city for me - laid-back, liberal, intellectual, but not snobbish, and environmentally savvy. Everyone was friendly, with no agenda. Coming from Los Angeles, you can imagine my relief not to hear an itemized list of someone's resume every time I merely said hello. The air was clear, the weather gorgeous (though I was warned time and time again how utterly atypical this was and not to get used to that bright sun) and little wisps of cotton blew across every road, like leftover pixie dust. Truly magical. Too good to be true, right?

I did all the must-sees like Pike Place and the Space Needle. Even visited the architecturally innovative newish Library. Saw surrounding little versions of Pleasantville like Kirkland, Bellevue and Ballard. All worthy tourist photo opps, to be sure. But my favorite spot in Seattle has to be Scarecrow Video.

The staff here lives, breathes and eats cinema, pretty much. The store has the most extensive film collection I've ever seen and puts Hollywood Boulevard to shame. Every recommendation is dead-on and they expect you to know your film history as well, since most movies are categorized by director. Who needs Netflix when you can walk in to the very real and present warm atmosphere of your fellow cinephiles? It'll take you years to learn everything about the place, so start by chatting up the staff - most of whom are here for the long haul. Then come back to La-la Land and tell 'em what they're missing.

If you're going, here are the jots of noteworthy interest:

We’re located in the University District of Seattle at 5030 Roosevelt Way NE (206.524.8554).

A quick exit off of I-5 and an easy walk from the University of Washington.

For directions to the store or how long it will take you to walk here from Boston, click here.

For some of our legendary history click here. Questions? They might be answered here.

http://www.scarecrow.com

Oh and don't forget to visit the original Rudy's at http://www.rudysbarbershop.com.

Enjoy!

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Once

Once
a kate west recommendation

"Once" is a quiet little independent film that defied expectations and became a hit at the Sundance Film Festival. Starring two movie unknowns, Glen Hansard (lead singer of "The Frames") and Markéta Irglová, it quickly became one of the year's best films and perhaps one of the best music films in decades.

Hansard, while a gifted musician (already on board with the project), is no actor and Director John Carney had to beg him to be in the movie after Cillian Murphy ("Breakfast on Pluto", "Batman Begins") dropped out. With no budget and no leads, things looked dire until somehow everything started magically pulling together. Irglová claims to be no actor either and while both Hansard and Irglová were initially nervous about carrying a film, between their collective vast musical ability and director support, they did an amazingly beautiful and very real job of bringing the characters to life (which just goes to show you how "real" real people can be).

The story concerns two seemingly dissimilar people who slowly come to realize their profound similarities. A Czech immigrant (Irglová) encounters Hansard as a street musician in Dublin and they strike up a friendship. Both are reeling from relationship troubles and find that they also have in common a great love and ear for music. By helping each other explore that, they also change themselves irrevocably.

What stems from that, must be seen and definitely heard to be believed. The music is fantastic and the emotions rich. It is a must-see for anyone loving romance, music, hope and joy. Don't you dare miss it. Update: CONGRATULATIONS on winning the BEST SONG OSCAR! Y'all deserve it.

Directed by	John Carney
Produced by	Martina Niland
Written by	John Carney
Starring	Glen Hansard Markéta Irglová
Music by	Glen Hansard Markéta Irglová Interference
Cinematography	Tim Fleming
Editing by	Paul Mullen

Songs:

1. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová: "Falling Slowly" (Hansard/Irglová)
   
2. Irglová and Hansard: "If You Want Me" (Irglová)
   
3. Hansard: "Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy"
   
4. Hansard and Irglová: "When Your Mind's Made Up"
   
5. Hansard and Irglová: "Lies" – (Hansard/Irglová)
   
6. Interference: "Gold" (Fergus O'Farrell)
   
7. Irglová: "The Hill" (Irglová)
   
8. Hansard: "Fallen from the Sky"
   
9. Hansard: "Leave"
   
10. Hansard: "Trying to Pull Myself Away"
    
11. Hansard: "All the Way Down"
    
12. Hansard and Irglová: "Once"
    
13. Hansard: "Say It to Me Now"
    

Music:
Once

Movie:
Once

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Hairless

Hairless
written & directed by Sarah Johnson
starring Angelique Little





Under the new-and-different category comes an usual independent film. "Hairless" is a movie about baldness. More specifically, about Alyssa, who tries to hide her hairless state from potential suitors. But this proves to be a daunting task, as she has no hair anywhere, due to a disease called alopecia areata (see info below on the very real condition).


Check out the website www.hairlessmovie.com






















WHAT IS ALOPECIA?
From The National Alopecia Areata Foundation

Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disease that results in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere. It usually starts with one or more small, round, smooth patches. It occurs in males and females of all ages and races, but onset most often occurs in childhood. It is estimated that approximately two percent of the population will be affected at some point in their lives, or over 4.5 million people in the United States.

In alopecia areata, the affected hair follicles are mistakenly attacked in groups by a person’s own immune system (white blood cells), resulting in the arrest of the hair growth stage. These affected follicles become very small, drastically slow down production, and grow no hair visible above the surface for months or years. The scalp is the mostly commonly affected area, but the beard or any hair-bearing site can be affected alone or together with the scalp.

Some people develop only a few bare patches that regrow hair within a year. In others, extensive patchy loss occurs, and in a few, all scalp hair is lost (referred to as alopecia totalis) or, hair is lost from the entire scalp and body (referred to as alopecia universalis). No matter how widespread the hair loss, the hair follicles remain alive and are ready to resume normal hair production whenever they receive the appropriate signal. In all cases, hair regrowth may occur even without treatment and even after many years.

At present, there is no cure for alopecia areata, although the hair may return by itself. There are various treatments, which are most effective in milder cases, but none are universally effective.

For more information, please check the website of the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, at www.naaf.org.


More from Angelique Little:
The Smartest Person Who Ever Lived
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Magnum Impact

a kate west favorite

From the website
http://electricocean.com/MagnumImpact/index.html:

A group of bank robbers hides out in a mountain cabin after a successful heist but find themselves under heavy fire from an unseen force of attackers in the surrounding forest. The main thrust of the movie (starring Austrian TV actor Armin Felsberger) shows the siege of their stronghold in a series of intense shootouts. The violence is strong, but never too gory. The acting is uneven at times, but the force of the images and the great editing draw you into the situation almost from the first moment. Includes some of the best shootouts ever filmed. Not surprisingly, Director Herbert Primig lists directors like Richard Donner, Sam Peckinpah, and Walter Hill as "people who have influenced me when I was a teenager and never forgot". He is currently at work on a new project titled SUMMER CITY.

Film Credits

Producer:
Herman Jamek
Herbert Primig

Director:
Herbert Primig

Cinematography:
Peter Kleewein

Screenplay:
Guenther Primig
Herbert Primig

Cast:
Armin Felsberger
Birgit Wanek
Klaus Herbst
Dieter Bergner
Guenther Primig
Natalie Skelton (Newscaster)


Previous Primig films: LA CACCIA (THE CHASE), SOLDIERS


Watch the clips online! Read more!